Author: BBC

1 hour agoMichael Sheils McNamee,BBC NewsBBCWallace and Gromit’s will face their arch-enemy, evil penguin Feathers McGraw, when they return in a new full-length feature film this Christmas, the BBC has confirmed. The 70-minute adventure, titled Vengeance Most Fowl, will see the iconic due face off against their nemesis who was last seen in the 1993 Oscar-winning short film The Wrong Trousers.Creator Nick Park said he decided to bring back McGraw having been asked by fans if the character would ever return.Wallace, the cheese-loving inventor, and his long-suffering dog Gromit were last seen in 2008’s A Matter of Loaf and Death.Wallace…

Conservation scientists are studying the health of Antarctic whales using a custom-made crossbow.The researchers use the device to take remote biopsies from wild humpback whales in order to study the health of the animals.It’s an effort that is revealing how the food supply of Antarctic whales could be affected by climate change. With sea ice declining at an alarming rate in this fragile environment, the whales’ giant bodies hold clues about the effect that’s having on the whole marine ecosystem.BBC science correspondent Victoria Gill joined a whale research mission, led by the wildlife charity WWF, in the Antarctic Peninsula.Filmed by…

Getty ImagesLabour says it will make permanent a scheme designed to ensure low-deposit mortgages are available for first-time buyers, if it wins the general election.The mortgage guarantee scheme was introduced by the Conservatives in 2021 when Rishi Sunak was chancellor of the Exchequer.It was extended until July next year by current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted to “turn the dream of owning a home into a reality”.The measure sees the government act as guarantor for part of a home loan – to encourage lenders to offer low-deposit deals.The Labour Party says its plan will help…

26 minutes agoAnnabelle Liang,Business reporterReutersMr Huang was a draw for attendees of Taiwan’s Computex eventThese days, wherever Jensen Huang goes, adoring crowds chant his name and scramble for selfies and autographs.The chief executive of Nvidia has nothing short of rock star status and during a visit to Taiwan this week, it was on full display. He posed for countless pictures and even scrawled his name on a woman’s top, just below her cleavage. It was pure “Jensanity” as locals put it.His peers know the kind of fan frenzy that Mr Huang can stir. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described him…

Best friends Kathy and Stella host a true crime podcast. When their favourite author is murdered they are thrown into a thrilling ‘whodunnit’ of their own.The team behind the murder-mystery musical comedy ‘Kathy & Stella Solve A Murder!’ includes Fleabag producer Francesca Moody. She spoke to BBC London alongside the stars of the show, Bronté Barbé and Rebekah Hinds, at the Ambassadors Theatre. Video journalist Claudia Redmond Source link

Dutch voters have begun four days of voting across the European Union, with exit polls suggesting a tight race between a left-green alliance and the party of anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders.Right-wing and far-right parties are widely expected to make big gains in many of the EU’s 27 member states, and that appears to have been borne out in the Netherlands, to an extent.Although the Green-Labour alliance is set to take more seats in the European Parliament according to the exit poll, Mr Wilders’ Freedom Party is on course for big gains. But he has not repeated the runaway victory of…

After pushing borrowing costs sharply higher in recent years to try to quell soaring prices, countries around the world are shifting gear.The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday announced its first interest rate cut in five years, dropping its main lending rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%.It came a day after Canada took a similar step and followed a flurry of similar moves in recent months from countries including Sweden, Switzerland, Brazil and Mexico.Officials in the UK and US, where borrowing costs now stand at the highest rate in years, are expected to hold off on any…

6 hours agoAnnabel Rackham,Culture reporterBBCMichael Mosley appeared on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in 2023TV star Michael Mosley has gone missing while on holiday on the Greek island of Symi.He was last seen on Wednesday, when he left his wife on the beach to go for a walk.Officers were unable to find the 67-year-old so requested help from the Greek fire department in Athens.But who is the man who has been a fixture on our TV screens for more than two decades?Mosley is a familiar face to many, mostly due to his numerous TV and radio appearances, where he mostly talks…

Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend has testified that she “panicked” when she searched his car and found a gun – a moment that set off a chaotic string of events that has brought the president’s son to a federal courtroom.Hallie Biden, who is also the widow of the defendant’s late brother, said she discovered the revolver amid piles of clothes and litter in the console of Hunter Biden’s truck. Ms Biden, 50, also told the court she was “embarrassed and ashamed” to have started smoking crack cocaine herself after Mr Biden, 54, introduced her to the drug.It is the first trial for…

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch has been cleared of fraud charges he faced in the United States over the $11bn (£8.6bn) sale of his software firm to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.A jury in San Francisco found him not guilty on all counts, a stunning victory for Mr Lynch, who had been accused of inflating the value of his firm, Autonomy, ahead of its sale.Mr Lynch, who faced more than 20 years in prison if convicted, had denied the charges, taking the stand to defend himself.In his testimony, he maintained he had focused on technology, not accounting, distancing himself from other executives,…